The Labor enquirer., 1887-01-08

docs not inspire themto the point ol
hufling themselves into : decisive
struggle. The people never take alesp
intb the dark. without having the sup b
port Of an Idea that they are sure 81, and
thathas been clearly formulated. which
serves them for spring bosrd. 60 70
speak. to give them start.
During Eve months Paris. isolated by
the siege. had lived its own life, and had
arrived at i knowledge Of the vast re;
sources. economical. intellectual and
moral which. it had at its disposal. II
had obtained sglimpse' of and had un-
derstood the power it had for taking the
Initiative. At the same time it had
seen that the band of babblers who had
selsed the power did not know how 10
organize ANYTHING, either the defense Of
France or the development of the into
rior. 1t had seen the central govern
msnt put itself in opposition to every !
thing that the intelligence Of a great CITY
could bring to light. II had understood
more than that-the impotence of 3
government. whatever it might be. to
ward off great disasters, to facilitate the
evolution which ls'rea ady to/take place.
1t had undergone during the siege q
frightful misery, the misery of the
workers and Of the defenders Of the
city. side by side With the insolent lux
ury of the fidlers, and it had seen all its
attempts to- put an en- a to that scandal
ous regime fail. thanks to the central
power. AS often as the people we're Of
q mind to takea free flight. the govern :
ment came 70 weights n its chains, to at
tach its ball to them, and the idea
sprang up quite naturally that Paris
ought to form itself iuto an Independent
Commune, capable Of realizing within
its1walls whatever the thought of thy
people should dictate.
That v ord. The Comm une forthwith
escaped from every mouth.
The Commune of 1871 could not be
anything but first rough outline. Born
at the close of war, invested by two
armies ready to Join hands to crush the
people. it did not dare to launch itself
entirely upon the path of economic Rev
olution it did not frankly declare itself
Socialistic; it didEnot proceed to the ex
.propriation Of capital Or to the organiza-
ton Of labor. or even TO taking genera
census of all the resources of the city.
It did not break further with the tradi-
ton of the state, of representative gov
ernment, and it did not seek to Civ Q
effect within the Commune to that
organization simple or complex, which
it inaugurated when it proclaimed the
independence and free federation of the
Communee. But it is certain that II the
Commune of Paris had lived a few
months longer it would have been in
evitably pushed by the force Of circum
stances, to those two Revolutions. Do
not let us forget that 1t took the bour
geoisie a Revolutionary period of four
years to get from limited monarchy to
the bourgeoisie republic. and let us not
be astonished at. seeing that the people
did not clear at single b 'und the space
which separates the Anarchistic Com
mune from the COVER nment of the pill
Layers. But know Also that the next
Revolution which in France. and Ger :
tainr also in Spain, will be Communist,
will take up the work Of the Communs
Paris at the point at which the assassins
Of the Versaillaise left it.
The Commune sutcumbed, and the
bourgeoisie avenged itself, we know how
for the fear with which the people had
inspired it when it shook of the yoke Of
Its governors. 1t pro we'd that there are
really two classes in modern society !:
on the one hand the man who works,
who gives to the bourgeois more than
half fwhat he produces, and who never
itheless passes very easily upon the
crimes of his masters-on. the other
hand the idler, animated with the in
stincts of the beast Of prey, hating his
slave, ready to slaughter him as if he
we're game. ..
After having shut 40 the people in
Paris, and closed every outlet, they sent
forth their soldiers, brutalizsd by the
barracks and BY wine. and SAID to'them
lin open assembly: Kill the wolyss.the
she wolves and their cubs,' and to the
people they said:
!. Whatever you do, You are going to
perish If you take up arms, Death /!
If you lay down your arms, Death II
YOU strike, Death! If you implore,
Death On whatever side you tuf 10
your eyes, to right, 70 left, before. be-
hind, above. below-Death You are
not only beyond the pale of the law. you
are beyond the pale of humanity.
Neither age nor eex shall avail to save
you, neither you nor yours. You are
going TO die, but before you die, you
hall taste the agony Of your wife. your
sister, your mother, your daughter >.
your sons. even to the very cradle.
They shall 60, under your eyes, TO- sei1e
tho wounded man in the ambulance
wagon to hack him with the ssber-bay-